Investing.com – U.S. equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Technology, Healthcare and Utilities sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.57% to hit a new 6-month high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.53%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.75%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which rose 2.42% or 5.34 points to trade at 226.41 at the close. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) added 1.62% or 2.38 points to end at 148.95 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 1.53% or 1.94 points to 128.83 in late trade.
Biggest losers included McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which lost 1.42% or 2.34 points to trade at 162.40 in late trade. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) declined 1.19% or 2.53 points to end at 209.45 and Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) shed 0.97% or 0.81 points to 82.32.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc (NYSE:DVA) which rose 5.58% to 71.33, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (NYSE:IFF) which was up 4.64% to settle at 137.23 and Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) which gained 4.50% to close at 43.62.
The worst performers were Kroger Company (NYSE:KR) which was down 9.93% to 28.58 in late trade, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) which lost 5.37% to settle at 30.480 and SunTrust Banks Inc (NYSE:STI) which was down 4.69% to 68.03 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Impinj Inc (NASDAQ:PI) which rose 33.17% to 25.01, Yulong Eco-Materials Ltd (NASDAQ:YECO) which was up 30.71% to settle at 1.660 and Pinduoduo (NASDAQ:PDD) which gained 30.03% to close at 29.96.
The worst performers were DHX Media Ltd (NASDAQ:DHXM) which was down 40.74% to 0.80 in late trade, Dragon Victory International Ltd (NASDAQ:LYL) which lost 29.00% to settle at 1.42 and Oxbridge Re Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:OXBR) which was down 18.75% to 1.95 at the close.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 1726 to 1330 and 107 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1326 fell and 1262 advanced, while 128 ended unchanged on the New York Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 6.09% to 12.34.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.35% or 4.20 to $1206.70 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 2.26% or 1.59 to hit $68.78 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 1.73% or 1.38 to trade at $78.36 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.56% to 1.1691, while USD/JPY rose 0.63% to 111.97.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.30% at 94.54.